It was more difficult because you needed to look through more things and make more choices. Purely due to that, it was "more difficult".
When I made up a 2e fighter, for instance, I'd roll stats and hp, buy equipment and write down THAC0, AC, HP, and saving throws, bonus to hit and damage(which was easy because it was your strength mod) and be done. Average time to finish about 5 minutes.
You missed a couple of steps there, although, to be fair, they were optional, but IMO, very widely used - proficiencies and weapon specialization. That that that added a whole lot of time, but, it did add some.
When making up a 4e character you need to do all the same work as a 2e character but you also need to pick a class feature, pick 2 at wills, an encounter power, a daily power, and a feat. You need to calculate attack bonuses and damage separately for each of your powers plus your basic attack. Instead of just looking up your saving throws and writing them down you need to get your bonuses from your race and class as well as any feat bonuses and stat bonuses and add them all together.
But, let's be fair here. You're comparing the easiest 2e character to make to 4e characters, all of which are about the same difficulty. Compare your 2e wizard or cleric and things start to look pretty much the same. Or a 2e thief where you had to spend your percentage points on your skills, modify those skills for the armor and race of the character and note down a number of special abilities.
Although, why are you calculating the attack bonuses separately for each power? Virtually all powers, with few exceptions will use the same stat and have the same attack bonus. Damage will vary, but, that's noted in the power. Saving throws? Fair enough. That will take longer.
All that stuff makes it harder. Especially when you have to consider every power available to you and every feat available to you. Average time to finish an hour or 2 for the people in our group. We had one player who said that if he didn't have at least a week to consider all his choices he would refuse to make up a character. That was WITH the character builder available.
Yes, but, let's not get too deep into the idiosyncrasies of your group. Using PHB only, which is what you're doing for 2e as well, I cannot possibly see how it can take 2 hours to make a character in 4e. That's ludicrous. I mean, it's spelled out in detailed steps in the PHB. Follow the steps and you're done.
Now, if you're using fifteen different source books, fair enough. But, that's not edition dependent. Make your 2e fighter using the Complete Fighter and various other 2e splats and see how long it takes.
It wasn't required in the same way you can do so fairly advanced math without a calculator. But you don't want to. Even restricted to only the PHB choices I found it so much easier to consider my choices by being able to quickly flip through my power options and restricting the list of feats to only ones I qualify for.
Advanced math? What advanced math? Adding two or three numbers together? Sure, the CB makes it easier, no one will argue that. But, it's hardly necessary.
